Head Coach Tony Sparano met with the media today for the first time since Saturday night and had plenty to say about the 10-7 win in the pre-season opener as well as plenty of other things. First, some good news: both Patrick Cobbs and Tim Dobbins, who missed the game, are expected back at practice this afternoon. On the other side, the coach said he has “no idea what the time frame is” as far as CB Will Allen’s return from what has been reported as arthroscopic knee surgery. Published reports have said that Allen does, though, expect to be ready for Week 1 at Buffalo. Other notes:

-Rookie LB Austin Spitler got a lot of reps on Saturday night in part because he is still playing catch-up after missing much of the early part of training camp.

-NT Paul Soliai did some nice things in the game and at times was “clearly knocking the center back.” The coach also said that even though Randy Starks is not playing like a traditional NT, Soliai’s role is still the same as it had been.

-QB Tyler Thigpen was in the game for 36 plays. The coach said he saw some good things but also saw some things that needed to be corrected.

-WR Patrick Turner was one of the guys who made the most of his opportunities against the Bucs. He, Roberto Wallace, and Marlon Moore took the most reps of any of the receiving groups.

-As for the starting running backs, Ronnie Brown was in for 15 plays, Ricky Williams for 12. Sparano said that Brown came out of the game “with confidence” as far as injury recovery goes.

-New signee Kevin Hobbs got a lot of time at nickel corner on Saturday night because that’s where he’s most comfortable and so that’s the place you can best tell his abilities. That said, Sparano said he still “needs to see more” out of him.

UPDATE: Here are some video highlights of the coach’s address and you can hear him discuss Saturday night’s game, the play of Nate Ness, and if he will consider having his team practice in the rain:

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